The Broccoli & Lettuce Guy, The Sushi Guy, The Hamburger Guy

Remember those days when we were kids and our parents told us to eat things that we didn’t like because they were good for us? I still remember how often my parents told me to eat my veggies, or the onions, or the garlic in my food, because they were good for my health. My father also used to shove me ‘cod liver’s oil’ everyday because he said it was good for my health. It was extremely yucky but I took it anyway because I had to. As much as I hated those things back then, I figured out that I managed to learn to like them. I don’t know if you share my experience, but through this food experience my parents had taught me that, sometimes in life, I could learn to like something that I don’t like if I would just try.

Funny enough, small as they may seem, I am once again exposed to this lesson in life. You may have noticed that we as humans are more inclined to the things that are bad for us. We still eat too much chocolate, smoke too many cigarettes and eat too much junk food. The fact that they’re unhealthy made us want them even more. After all, we only live once. But this is besides my point.

Let’s just take my example. All these years, I have never been attracted to the sweet, quiet, boring, dorky type of guys whom I call ‘the broccoli and lettuce guys’. I was however more inclined to the extrovert, passionate, careless, wacky guys who were charming and on top of the world. I call these guys ‘the hamburger guys’ because they were extremely tempting but they're bad for my 'health'. Although hamburgers are extremely tasty, if you have too much of them you’ll end up being fat and ill.

This brings me to the questions that always linger in my mind: Is it true that perhaps the broccoli and lettuce guys are better for me? What if I learn to love them just like how I learned to love my onions and garlic; would I be happier? Is it true that there are only two types of guys? One that is boring but won’t break your heart and one that is fun but will most likely tear you apart? Are there guys in between? Should we settle for less because of the risk of getting hurt?

Now, don’t say that I didn’t try. Just as I tried my onions, garlic and cod liver’s oil, I tried dating the broccoli and lettuce types of guys. However, I couldn’t take it for too long. I am the type of person who wouldn’t want to live in boredom just because I was afraid of getting hurt. I wouldn’t choose the broccoli and lettuce guys because I simply wouldn’t be happy with them. Although being broken hearted is very painful, I’d rather take the risk than being bored. Perhaps because of my desire to avoid boredom, I overlooked the fact that I always fell for the hamburger types who in the end turned my life to a disaster. I guess, I was looking for what I want at the wrong places. If I may quote Sarah Jessica Parker from Sex and the City: ‘I’m looking for love, ridiculous-consuming-can’t-live-without-each-other love’, which I misinterpreted by falling for the hamburger guys. I did not realize the fact that maybe those extrovert, funny, passionate guys were not into the ‘consuming-can’t-live-without-each-other love’. It was my mistake for associating what I want with the wrong type of guys.

Certainly, I could not rest with this conclusion. I have always believed that there are guys who fall in the middle; who are fun, passionate and charming that won’t break your heart. I call them ‘the sushi guys’. They are healthy and adventurous enough, and with the right amount of wasabi you’ll get the best food there is. The problem is there aren’t that many guys who fall under this type. It’s either they are taken, or the competition is so stiff that girls would fight over their lives for this type of guys.

In the end, I am left with the broccoli and lettuce guys. Since they are so boring and have got nothing to do, they probably would go for the ridiculously consuming love. I guess in life, we can’t have everything we want. Still in my heart I am hoping to find my sushi guy. But if life didn’t bring me sushi, I probably might have to settle for the broccoli and lettuce. And learn to love them just like what I did when I was a kid.